Milk Thistle Seed 80% Silymarin Powdered Extract (Silybum marianum) 10 kg (22 lbs): Q

Used as a decoction, extract and tincture. The 1997 Commission E on Phytotherapy and Herbal Substances of the German Federal Institute for Drugs recommends Milk Thistle ripe seed: ‘The drug contains silibinin, silydianin, and silychristin. Uses: Crude drug: Dyspeptic complaints. Formulations [an extract standardized to at least 70 percent silymarin, the collective name for the three compounds listed]: Toxic liver damage; for supportive treatment in chronic inflammatory liver disease and hepatic cirrhosis.’ ‘Average daily dose of drug: 12 – 15 g; Formulations equivalent to 200 – 400 mg of silymarin, calculated as silibinin. Mode of Administration: Powdered drug for making infusions and other galenical formulations to be taken by mouth.’ ‘Actions: Silymarin acts as an antagonist in many experimental liver-damage models: phalloidin and -amanitin (death-cap toxins), lanthanides, carbon tetrachloride, galactosamine, thioacetamide, and the hepatotoxic virus FV3 of cold-blooded vertebrates. The therapeutic activity of silymarin is based on two sites or mechanisms of action: (a) it alters the structure of the outer cell membrane of the hepatocytes in such a way as to prevent penetration of the liver toxin into the interior of the cell; (b) it stimulates the action of nucleolar polymerase A, resulting in an increase in ribosomal protein synthesis, and thus stimulates the regenerative ability of the liver and the formation of new hepatocytes.’ Milk thistle is believed to protect the cells of the liver by blocking the entrance of harmful toxins and helping to remove these toxins from the liver cells. Milk thistle seeds contain a bioflavonoid complex known as silymarin. As with other bioflavonoids, silymarin is a powerful antioxidant. Milk thistle also regenerates injured liver cells. Milk thistle extract is most commonly recommended to counteract the harmful actions of alcohol on the liver. Long-term placebo-controlled, double blind studies have shown milk thistle extracts to be effective in patients with liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, and even diabetes due to cirrhosis. Milk thistle alters bile makeup, thereby potentially reducing risk of gallstones. Since silymarin is not very soluble in water, a strong boiled decoction of the ground seeds is most effective, rather than a weak infusion (tea). More effective yet is the standardized extract. A recent case report of chronic infection by hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus demonstrated potential efficacy of treatment with milk thistle (10 g ground-up seeds in oatmeal with standardized (70%) milk thistle extract capsules three times daily) in combination with another herb known for its hepatoprotectant activity, Phyllanthus amarus (200 mg, three times daily). Grieve’s classic ‘A Modern Herbal’: ‘The seeds of this plant are used nowadays for the same purpose as Blessed Thistle, and on this point John Evelyn wrote: ‘Disarmed of its prickles and boiled, it is worthy of esteem,